Turquoise ~ Communication and clarity of mind. It can also be impractical and idealistic.

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Colors.

Chapter 4: Turquoise.

"Naruto?" Yuriko looked in surprise as the orange and blond boy ran past her.

After Naruto reached the age of eleven he had started walking home by himself. He said he was too old for his sister to take him to school or meet him outside the school at the end of the day. She chalked it up to him wanting to be more independent, he was twelve and soon enough he'd be a teenager. Considered an adult when he graduated.

Usually, he greeted her with a hug when he got home if she wasn't on a mission herself. Something was wrong today, he simply brushed past her without so much as a hello. She hadn't expected that. Today was his genin test, she'd expected him to burst into the house yelling in excitement.

Yuriko knew he had what it took to graduate. He may have been considered a dead last because of his lackluster test scores, but she knew her brother was simply more of a kinesthetic learner. He didn't do well with written test.

Shutting the front door, which had been left open, Yuriko walked through the kitchen, dinning room, and into the living room before heading up the stairs to the second floor. Upstairs there were closets, a full bathroom, a master bedroom, and two other bedrooms. Downstairs there was a large basement with a sealed room, which had been her parents' study and where all the books, scrolls, and family heirlooms were kept. She usually kept the basement door locked.

Naruto's room was easily spotted; it was to the right of the landing. Being a bright orange door made it stand out in the otherwise ivory walled hall. A sign with his name in dark blue hung from the door. Yuriko knocked, her fist connecting with the wood three times. But she got no response.

"Naruto? Are you alright in there?" she asked. "Did something happen?"

She hadn't seen her brother this depressed (or at least the real Yuri hadn't) since he was six, when he'd started the Academy two years earlier than the others in his age group. He'd wanted be like his big sister and graduate early. Unfortunately, the last two exams hadn't ended well. She'd not said it aloud, but she'd been relieved. She'd wanted Naruto to enjoy his childhood before he became a slave to duty.

That wasn't what she remembered being his most upset, though. She remembered coming to get him from his first day at school, only to find him on the monument crying because one of his classmates called him a demon who was mocking the Yondaime's family by pretending to be his son. The entire class had laughed and the teacher had just smiled and joined in.

Yuri had consoled him, assuring him he wasn't a demon, and that he was her brother. She had kept him home the next day, and in full shinobi gear showed up to his classroom to give the teacher a piece of her mind. Needless to say, that teacher had never caused Naruto problems again, in fact, she thought it wasn't long before Iruka took over for him. It may have been the real Yuriko's memory, but she remembered it as clear as day.

Pressing her ear to the door she could hear some sniffing, like he'd buried his face in or under a pillow to sob. Frowning she twisted the doorknob only to find it locked. Sighing, she knelt down and unlocked it with one of her hair-pins, which kept half her hair in a low but tight bun.

This was something she remembered from her first life and remained useful. Hearing the click of the lock she gently pushed the door open. Laying on his bed, his face buried in his pillow and shoulders shaking, was her brother. He didn't move but she knew he heard her enter. She'd barely gotten a glimpse of him before, but now she realized he didn't have a headband, which puzzled her.

She knew he had issues with lower level jutsu, that was to be expected given he was not only an Uzumaki but a jinchūriki as well. She'd left instructions with Mizuki for Iruka, explaining that it was near impossible for Naruto to get something as simple as the Bunshin and to excuse him from it. She'd gotten it signed by the Hokage and stamped so he knew it was legit.

Even she'd not graduated by completing the Bunshin no Jutsu. She'd been excused from the Bunshin no Jutsu by substituting it for another; she'd preformed her clan's Kongō Fūsa (Adamantine Sealing Chains) instead. Her mother had the Kage Bunshin in her personal library, despite the fact it really shouldn't be, given the jutsu was part of the Forbidden Scroll.

Yuriko learned the Kage Bunshin when she was snooping through her mother's scrolls when she was three. Her parents nearly had a heart attack, as most three year olds would've been dead trying to make one shadow clone. The only reason she'd not used the Kage Bunshin to graduate was because few knew she could preform it, and it was a good trump card to keep to herself.

She later learned the Blood Clone (an Uzumaki made clone jutsu that took even more chakra than a shadow clone) from her mother's scrolls after her graduation. She planned to teach Naruto the shadow clone once he made genin, and the blood clone once he was chūnin – or at least chūnin-level in her opinion.

Her red hair swayed against her knees as she walked over and sat on the edge of his bed.

"What's going on little brother?" Yuriko asked, placing a hand on his back.

For a few seconds she thought he wasn't going to answer, but then he turned his head in her direction. His cheeks were wet with signs of past tears, and his blue eyes were much duller. He sniffled, his nose scrunching in an adorable manner as he did.

"I failed, again," he said. "Sasuke, that bastard, passed... but I couldn't."

"What, but why? You've gotten the basics down, and I know you know more than a few seals to show off..."

Naruto sat up and shook his head. "I had to do the Bunshin no Jutsu, Iruka said it was mandatory. I tried really hard, nee-chan, but they turned out dead again!"

Yuriko's eyebrows shot up, and she blinked thrice before standing up abruptly. "You mean you weren't excused from the Bunshin no Jutsu?"

Naruto looked his sister in confusion. "No, why would I be?"

Yuriko closed her verdant eyes and counted to ten mentally, trying to remember how she'd been told to control her temper and other unwanted emotions. As a ninja it came easier than it did in her first life, but she was still an emotional person when not on an important mission.

It had been four years since she had anything to do with ANBU though – she imagined Yuri, wherever she was right now, had it a little easier since she had to stay as inconspicuous as possible within Akatsuki.

"Naruto, stay here. I'm going to go talk to the Hokage and Iruka about this, okay," she said.

"But Yuri, can't I go to get ramen and maybe visit the park for a while?" Naruto asked, wiping his eyes.

A little of his hope had been restored; his sister wouldn't have said something like that if she thought he couldn't retake the test or something. At least, he hoped he wasn't reading too much into it. Either way he wanted to get out of the house, all he would accomplish here was self pity.

"I guess. It might be best, since I doubt I'll cook today," Yuriko said, not seeing a reason to keep him home. Naruto smiled, but it wasn't wide or as cheerful as it usually was.

He was clearly still depressed he hadn't graduated with his friends. But he still jumped from his bed and darted out of his room, down the stairs, and out the front door within ten seconds. She sighed, straightening up his bed to occupy her mind.

She couldn't believe Iruka had failed Naruto, even after she'd given in a signed note to excuse him from the clone jutsu. It just didn't sound like Iruka. He didn't hate Naruto like some of the villagers (not anymore at least), and even they kept their hate to themselves; the brave ones sent glares and whispers. They dared not overcharge him since it could easily get back to her, and no one wanted to temper the Red-Hot Blooded Habanero's daughter.

Lifting her locket and rings she though about the real Yuri. She'd been gone four years now, and from what the Hokage shared she kept in contact monthly. Her necklace was a replica of the real Yuri's and came with her creation. When the Uzumaki responsible for the creation of the blood clone jutsu set out to develop a technique that would clone someone exactly, they meant down to the littlest detail. Yuri's use of the jutsu was basically like creating her own twin.

She sent updates to the real Yuri on a somewhat regular basis as well, updating her on Naruto's progress and well-being. It wasn't safe to do so more than that, even by Phoenix summon. Otherwise, there had been no contact between original and clone. And none were the wiser to their deception. Yet, at least.

Shaking her head she let her necklace fall into her kimono-top and head down the stairs, slipped into her boots, and left the house. She, Iruka, and the Hokage were going to have a long chat.

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Yuriko gave the confused Academy Chūnin an ear full once he arrived in the Hokage's office. The Hokage himself wasn't happy with what she had to report, having signed the excuse slip himself, but he'd wanted to hear Iruka out at least.

Yuriko's temper had been close to boiling over before, and upon seeing the scarred chūnin her self control had slipped. Her hair split into fiery wings as she began unleashing her pent up anger at the poor man. Once she was done she felt better, but her glare never wavered. Not until Iruka hesitantly spoke up.

He told them he'd never received any note excusing Naruto from the Bunshin no Jutsu. Mizuki had never mentioned it and never given him anything signed by the Hokage. This raised everyone's suspicion of the assistant teacher. The only thing they could do now though was have him watched, and let Naruto take a make-up exam the next morning.

Happy with the turn out, Yuriko stopped by the Haruno Bakery and picked up a small cake, big enough for a family of four to enjoy so there would be more than enough for her and Naruto. It was dark by the time she got home. She opened the front door, stepped out of her shoes and into her house shoes, and slipped into the kitchen with the cake.

It was only nine, so she decided to begin cooking a dinner of spaghetti bolognese – something she remembered from her first life. The ingredients weren't terribly hard to find thankfully. Maybe it was because of the noodles, but it was one of the few things besides ramen she could get Naruto to eat growing up.

As he got older he became less picky, thankfully. Because of her limiting his ramen consumption he'd hit five feet by his twelfth birthday. A good healthy height for his age. She herself had probably hit her peak at five foot five. About twenty minutes later the food was nearly down, and she decided to set the timer on the counter and head upstairs to talk to Naruto.

She assumed he'd returned from the park hours ago. He didn't stay out past seven, and when he did she was usually with him. Even if the villagers kept their hostility to themselves Yuriko had always been rather paranoid of where her brother was at all times, especially after the sunset.

"Naruto, I have good news," she said after knocking. There was no answer, and after knocking again thinking he was napping, she opened the door. Inside the window was open, but no one was inside. Going over to his window she frowned.

"Shit," she cursed, shutting the window harder than she ought-of. Naruto was gone, and she didn't know why or where he'd gone.

Racing into her room at the end of the hall, the master bedroom, she changed into a long sleeved mesh armor shirt, a low cut pale, leaf-green kimono-top that stopped just past her thighs and was slit up both sides until her waist where a black obi kept her top bound. She already had on a pair of tight black shorts and simply slipped out of her shin length dark purple skirt.

By the time she got downstairs the timer was going off. She shut if off before slipping her knee high boots back on. Taking her weapon pouches from a hook in the closet by the front door, and slipping a tantō above her medical bag at the small of her back and a pair of tessen into special holsters on her forearms.

She pulled her headband around her neck, and grabbed her metal plated fingerless gloves that went up to her shoulders, though her long sleeves covered the majority of them and any hidden weapons (like her two bladed folding fans).

She was out the door within five minutes of finding Naruto gone, praying the entire time that he'd simply gone to a friends home. In the pit of her stomach she knew that wasn't the case.

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Colors Omake:

Fugaku groaned when he noticed the presence of the small redheaded heiress of the Uzumaki clan. Her green eyes were narrowed as she stared down at Itachi and him. He'd been training his son for hours now, wanting to unleash and help his son's potential prosper before he began the Academy in a year. His son was a prodigy, which had become obvious by the time he was walking at six and a half months.

He was talking in broken sentences a few months later, and his observation skills were amazing even as a small toddler. At four it was amazing to realize one was talking to a four year old, when said four year old sounded so much older. Fugaku could admit to himself, maybe he was too hard on Itachi. He pushed the boy to be the best, to reach his full potential. Itachi was the future of the Uchiha clan, this was all to ready him for his future position as clan head.

He was somewhat remorseful for the fact his son seemed to have lost most of his emotions, unsure how to act like the child he was, but it was for the betterment of their clan. Fugaku had hope that Itachi would one day bring the clan out of the shadows they'd been forced into over the years. There was one obstacle in the way of Itachi's training and duties as clan heir; that redheaded chaos demon – Uzumaki Yuriko.

Noticing Itachi's sudden lack of concentration, causing a kunai to go off center and hit the corner of the target, Fugaku closed his eyes and sighed. He could feel the harsh gaze of the she-devil Namikaze and Uzumaki had spawned – given who the child's mother was he couldn't feign surprise. Uzumaki Kushina had been a lot like her daughter, and still was honestly. It seemed to be multiplied in her daughter though.

Just last week when he'd refused to allow Itachi out to play (no matter how much Mikoto tried to reason with him that it would be good for Itachi) the entire Police Force suffered from laxatives in the coffee and tea (even the donuts weren't sparred, but how she pulled it off he wasn't sure). Very few had avoided the coffee, tea, and donuts that day – he had not been so lucky.

She was even worse when Shisui, another Uchiha with a great deal of potential, joined in her antics. It was a shame she focused so much on childish pranks, since the girl was also considered a prodigy and would start the Academy at the same time as Itachi.

"Yuri..." Itachi muttered. In a flash of red and green a small redhead stood in the training ground facing Itachi.

Though her hair was a dark shade of red, it was still offendingly bright to some. She wore it to her shoulders, a few unruly strands trying to spike up. Her face was rounded with baby fat, and her eyes were almost fox-like and eerily emerald green. She was several centimeters shorter than Itachi.

"Hi-ya, 'Tachi!" Yuriko said, grinning widely with one hand stretched over her head to wave. "Wanna go to the park with me? It'll be fun, we can get sweets and water bomb the ninja, 'ttebane!"

Fugaku's eye twitched as he was ignored by the girl and even his son, who looked like he was seconds from agreeing to join her. Clearing his throat he turned his glare on the girl as she turned around.

"I'm afraid that's impossible, Uzumaki-san," he said, trying to keep his annoyance hidden. "Itachi is training today."

"But he was training yesterday," she said innocently, as if she didn't know what he was on about.

Yuriko smirked inwardly, knowing how much her presence tended to annoy the Uchiha clan head. He obviously hadn't gotten over the last prank she'd pulled on him – and by consequence the entire Uchiha Police Force. She saw how hard Fugaku and the clan elders pushed Itachi, who'd became her best friend the moment they'd met as babies. She hadn't really been aware of much back then, her memories hadn't returned until after her first birthday, and in small segments.

She'd finally caught up to her past lives death when she was two and a half. But that had been eighteen years of life in only a year and a half; she'd been confused for a while. Was she Hera or was she Yuriko? Eventually she realized, yes – she was Hera, but her life as Hera had ended and now she was Yuriko.

The best part was she had parents, and though she was expected by everyone to become a ninja, she also had a childhood. Which she was thoroughly enjoying. Her first life could really only be considered surviving for a long time. It wasn't until Hogwarts and her friends she had some semblance of truly living.

Obviously she saw the pressure put on Itachi, and she recognized it. It was a ghost of her past life, and one that followed her even today. She wasn't going to let her best friend be alone through it. Fugaku could resent her all he wanted. It wouldn't change anything.

"And he's training today as well. You'll have to go now, Itachi can't be distracted," he said, his teeth clinched together tighter than he'd realized. Yuri laughed, rubbing the back of her neck before a smirk flickered across her face.

"Really?" she muttered, trying to sound sad but it just came out with a menacing quality. Her eyes narrowed, and Itachi glanced between his father and best friend. If he didn't know better he'd swear lightning was being shot between the distance of their eyes. His onyx eyes widened when he saw the redhead pulling a small black ball from her back pouch.

He could see the tag wrapped around it and knew it was one of her special bombs, something she called a dung bomb – it smelled so foul it had taken the Inuzuka a month to clear the stench after she released just five in each corner of their compound. This one was smaller than those, which meant it was more powerful.

Itachi opened his mouth to dissuade Yuri, but it was too late. Yuriko had thrown the dung bomb, grabbed a mask that would filter the bombs effects and shoved it at him and pulled hers up from around her neck. It was no different than a normal navy face mask, but the seals stitched into it made them special. Poisons and gases such as this couldn't get past the fabric since the seals filtered the harmful stuff out.

She'd made a few hundred for the boy on her father's team, the son of the once revered White Fang a few months ago. He barely got the mask on before the bomb detonated, leaving his father struck dumb and coughing at the fumes which filled the training ground. Not only did it stink but it acted as a smoke screen.

"Come on!" she cried, grabbing his hand with a smile hidden behind her mask and they disappeared into the trees. Looking back he saw a clone holding what used to be a simple water gun. Yuri had modified it to hold a container on the end, filled with small balls of paint. Air pressure was used to launch the balls through the once harmless water pistol with the use of another seal she'd come up with recently.

From the yells and near growls of his father, he realized the cackling clone had started firing at the man. He grimaced, but turned back to follow after Yuri who was cackling under her breath as well the entire way. He didn't want to be there when his father got his bearing and found the clone. The Police Force would probably face the brunt of Fugaku's anger.

"Was that a good idea?" he asked.

Yuri looked back at him smiling brightly and chuckling. "Why not? In my opinion he was holding you hostage! For the last month all you've been doing in train, train, train. When was the last time we spent the day playing?"

Itachi couldn't say she was wrong. He had been training almost non-stop the last month. His father said it was to prepare him for the Academy, but that was still a while away. He'd trained a lot in the past too, but it seemed his father was cracking down harder on it now, and he'd been allowed less and less time to spend with his few friends. Honestly he only had Shisui and Yuriko to call his friends, and he'd only met Shisui a few weeks ago during one of the pranks Yuri roped him into.

"Besides," Yuri began. They jumped from the trees and walked towards the center of the village. Itachi recognized this rout and got a hopeful feeling in his gut. "You do know what today is, Itachi. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't kidnap you away from your clan duties?" She grumbled and added air-quotes to the last word.

A small smile lifted the corner of Itachi's lips, growing a little bigger when they came to a stop outside a well known Dango stand.

"Happy birthday, Itachi!" Yuri said happily, dragging him inside.

For Itachi, the dango tasted especially good when it arrived at their table. He didn't even pay any mind to the odd looks some of the civilians gave him and Yuri, unused to seeing two four year olds acting as they did.

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Coughing, Fugaku made his way inside his home, fanning his arms in front of him as if to shoo the smell away. He was covered from head to toe in spots of colored pant, alternating between coughing and cursing.

Mikoto's brow rose in question, and she bit her lip to stop her amusement from being obvious. She couldn't however stop a short chuckle, and the scrunching of her nose when she caught a hint of her husbands smell.

She wasn't sure she'd smelt anything quite so foul.

"Where's Itachi?" she asked, not even bothering to ask him why he was covered in paint.

She had a faint idea what had happened. Fugaku's head snapped around and she kept her face blank despite the urge to laugh. Despite his Sharingan being activated and spinning menacingly, the fact he was dishevelled and covered in paint ruined the intimidating factor. Not to mention, Mikoto had long since stopped being intimidated by her husband.

"Don't ask, Mikoto. We both know what happened, and that little..." Fugaku gritted his teeth, aware he couldn't start calling his wife's goddaughter such colorful names without incurring her wrath. She rose an eyebrow, as if daring him to continue. "That red horror was back! She took Itachi and ran, leaving a clone behind to do this. Just wait until I get a hold of that menace!"

"And what, pray tell, are you going to do?" Mikoto asked, her amusement unable to be held back. "I think you should accept it honey. You've lost this round."

Fugaku practically growled, his Sharingan spinning even more furiously. She had a point, as much as he hated to admit it. With a sigh, he grunted and said, "I'm going to take a shower..."

Or a few dozen, Mikoto thought when her husband stormed past her and the smell became nearly unbearable. The entire way up the stairs she could hear her husbands colorful language as he cursed Minato, Kushina, and their hell spawn. She laughed to herself, she was so proud of her goddaughter.

"Hmm, maybe I should wait a while before telling him I want another baby," Mikoto pondered as she returned to making her son his favorite dinner. Or maybe, she thought with a small smirk, she could just surprise him in a few months.